A VERY SPECIAL FAMILY GUY FREAKIN’ CHRISTMAS

GUEST CAST

Gene Simmons
Paul Stanley

Lois signs Stewie up to star as baby Jesus in a nativity scene at the Quahog Christmas pageant. Stewie plays along in hopes of pleasing Santa, whom he believes is omnipotent and thereby can supply him with plutonium. After Lois repeatedly reminds Peter to donate a present to charity, he mistakenly donates all of the family’s Christmas gifts to a needy kids’ charity. Lois seems unfazed by the mistake, but insists that the entire family shop for new presents at the mall. Peter reluctantly agrees, although he only wants to watch KISS Saves Santa on television; Brian stays behind to keep an eye on the turkey cooking in the oven. While at the mall, Peter finds a pair of barrettes that Meg wanted and ends up chasing down an old lady to a pet fish store called “Age of Aquariums”, where the old lady throws fish food on him so that all the fish jump onto him to feed while the old lady escapes.

Meanwhile at home, an ember shoots onto the family rug from the fireplace. While Brian tries to deal with this crisis, the overcooked turkey begins to burn. Brian finds a fire extinguisher, but to his dismay, it is merely a novelty item filled with plastic snakes, which, upon being released into the fire, promptly explode and make it worse. After using the real fire extinguisher, he slips on the foam from it and the TV falls on top of him. Afterwards the interior of the house is destroyed; Brian escapes, but with his paws burnt hairless. Amazingly, Lois maintains a cheerful attitude, saying that they just need to clean up a bit. However, when Meg tells her that they are out of paper towels, Lois suffers a nervous breakdown and screams at the family about how difficult it is to ensure that Christmas happens without a hitch, then runs from the ruined house on a rampage (Meg then ironically finds some paper towels mere seconds after Lois’ rampage).

Lois storms through town, berating people for their Christmas optimism. When she reaches town square, she climbs the Christmas tree there and grabs the ornamental star on top, bent on destroying it. The rest of the family arrives and Stewie, eager to perform a good deed to earn Santa’s grace, performs an extemporaneous monologue about Jesus and the meaning of Christmas. Lois, watching Stewie, regains her sanity, but Peter, who thinks Lois isn’t getting the message, allows the police to shoot her with a tranquilizer dart, just after she puts the star back on the tree. The next morning at Christmas, the family opens their presents: Stewie gets his plutonium; Peter gets a week’s vacation, a new VCR, and his own copy of Kiss Saves Santa; and Brian gets at what first appears to be a bottle of wine, but actually turns out to be a book. Lois is heavily sedated, sitting limply in a rocking chair and drooling. In the closing scene, the Griffins wish everyone a Merry Christmas (though Lois is still too numb to speak clearly).

The first time we got to see the Griffins celebrate Christmas and its become a classic. loved Stewie’s quote about Jeffrey Hunt. The Kiss saves Santa bits were quite fun too. all in all a great episode to start the holiday season.

ROAD TO THE NORTH POLE

Brian takes Stewie to the mall, only to get a rude brush-off from Santa. As a result, Stewie vows to kill Santa for blowing him off and forces Brian to take him to the North Pole. Attempting to trick Stewie, he brings him to a Santa’s Village amusement park. Soon discovering the charade, Stewie threatens to shoot Brian if he does not take him to the real North Pole. Stewie hitches a ride with a trucker and so Brian follows him all the way to Canada. On the way, Stewie accidentally causes a traffic pileup by discharging a flare pistol in the cab of the truck, which catches fire and explodes. Crashing his car in a chain reaction, Brian becomes angry and tells Stewie that Santa does not exist. Stewie becomes frustrated and continues to attempt to hitchhike. The pair then encounter a Canadian who gives them his snowmobile.

Continuing north, they soon run out of gas, but receive help from the Aurora Boreanaz, who instructs them to stay at a nearby cabin. The two survive the night in the cabin and set out on foot the next morning. They finally make it to Santa’s workshop, only to find a dark, gloomy factory in a dreary, polluted, lifeless wasteland, Santa a sickly and somewhat psychopathic old man, the elves horribly inbred and mutated from Santa’s attempt to keep up with the increasing toy demands year after year, and the reindeer carnivorous feral monsters that eat the elves who wandered out into the snow to die of exhaustion. Santa suddenly collapses and is too sick to deliver the presents. Brian and Stewie agree to do it, only to waste time at their first stop and leave, after being discovered by a family, whom they later attack, The reindeer eat each other.

On Christmas morning, everybody wakes up to find no presents under their trees. They turn on the news, which is broadcasting the same story. Brian and Stewie appear on the broadcast and bring the dying Santa out in a wheelchair, explaining that humanity’s greed is killing him and if they don’t shorten their demands to one Christmas present a year, they may have to give up Christmas altogether. Chastened, everyone agrees and, one year later, Santa has recovered, the workshop is once again a lively, colorful Christmassy cottage and the elves and reindeer are all rejuvenated.

Road to the North Pole is an amazing feature length exmas special, making it a Road to episode also makes it memorable. the Musical numbers are excellent and well written. The episode also has a heartwarming message come episodes end.

JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH

As the Griffins prepare for Christmas by decorating their tree, Meg finds an ornament of the manger and Peter tells the story of Christmas. Joseph (played by Peter) and his friend Robby (played by Brian) spot Mary (played by Lois) in their village. Joseph introduces himself to her. They have many dates, but Joseph is annoyed by Mary’s reluctance to have sex. Mary claims that she is destined for something special. Later, Mary tells Joseph that she has been visited by an angel (played by Bruce) who told her that God has blessed her with his child. Joseph accepts this. Taking a break from the story, Peter and the family call their Aunt Helen to wish her a merry Christmas. The call does not go well and Peter returns to the story.

On the way to Bethlehem on a mule (played by Meg), Joseph is skeptical about the baby. Elsewhere, three wise men (played by Glenn Quagmire, Cleveland Brown, and Joe Swanson) are inspired to travel to Bethlehem themselves. They stop at the palace of King Herod (played by Carter Pewterschmidt) for water, and talk of their plans to see the Messiah. Herod decides to protect his title and win the love of Jodie Foster (a reference to John Hinckley, Jr.) by killing the child. Mary and Joseph arrive at an inn, but the manager (played by Mort Goldman) denies them a room. Mary goes into labor, and the manager offers them space in a stable. Mary ponders what to call the new child. The angel takes her list of possible names to God, who is inspired to name the child “Jesus” after something the angel said.

The wise men, who are following a light in the sky, argue about the nature of the light; they think it might be an airplane. A doctor tells them of an earlier messiah who was not successful. The wise men arrive with their gifts as the savior is born. A drummer boy (played by Chris) joins them. King Herod arrives with his army and demands the child. Jesus (played by Stewie) transforms the manger into a fighter plane and destroys Herod’s troops with it. After Peter finishes his story, a pregnant couple arrives at the door. They explain that their car broke down and they need help, but Peter, thinking that they’re faking, gives them the cold shoulder and threatens to call the police. When they press their request for help, Peter goes to get his baseball bat.

The Family Guy’s retelling of the Jesus Myth. Family Guy makes the myth far more entertaining than other adaptations. Not as good as Road To The North Pole, but then nothing could beat that one.

CHRISTMAS GUY

GUEST CAST

Tony Sirico (The Sopranos)

The Griffin family goes to Quahog Mall for the annual Christmas Carnival, but they find the festivities have been cancelled, causing Stewie to go on a destructive rampage. Vinny learns that Carter, Lois’s father, canceled the carnival. Peter confronts Carter who tells him that it was cancelled because he hates Christmas. Peter vows to help Carter find his Christmas spirit. Peter tries a fake story letter, making Carter drink egg nog in a hotel room, and having him masturbate, to no effect. When Peter accuses Carter of acting Jewish, Carter reverses his position on the carnival.

Despite being re-established at the Quahog Mall, the Christmas Carnival fails to raise Stewie’s spirits. When the Mall Santa Claus asks Stewie what he wants for Christmas, Stewie realizes he wants Brian back. Vinny pretends to be Brian, acting like an intellectual and a writer, but fails to cheer up Stewie. Trying to raise his spirits, Vinny and Stewie return to the Quahog Mall, where Stewie spots his past self time travelling to purchase a gift. Remembering the time travel occurred prior to Brian’s death, Stewie realizes he can use Past Stewie’s return pad to save Brian. Vinny appeals to Past Stewie’s vanity to obtain his backpack, and brings it to Present Stewie. Stewie says goodbye to Vinny, whom he and the family will no longer have met if Brian lives.

Stewie arrives in the past, saving Brian from being hit by the car. After explaining the situation to Brian, Stewie sends the return pad back to his past self in order to prevent a temporal paradox. Now unable to return and having altered his past, Stewie fades from existence as Brian thanks him for his actions. Unaware of what occurred, Past Stewie comes out of the house and wonders who Brian was talking to.

In the present on Christmas Day, Brian is alive and well. Grateful to him for saving his life, Brian thanks Stewie, who remains oblivious to his averted death, as well as his alternate self’s actions.

One of the most memorable Christmas episodes as it b rings back the beloved character Brian, making Stewie’s Christmas wish come true.

THE 2,000 YEAR OLD VIRGIN

On a trip to the Quahog Mall before Christmas, Peter and Lois bump into Jesus and discover that he is still hanging around Quahog due to not being entirely comfortable dealing with his own home life with God. Jesus invites Peter over to his place. However, since it is a depressing bachelor apartment, Peter invites him out with Glenn Quagmire, Cleveland Brown, and Joe Swanson to have a drink. At the Drunken Clam, they start to plan a birthday party and Jesus tells them that he has never had sex: to make his birthday special, they promise to help him lose his virginity. Their attempts to achieve this fail, upsetting Peter. Lois tries to find out what Jesus likes, but her nice manners cause him to want to sleep with her. Approaching Peter about his issue to help him, Peter is shocked but agrees to help when Jesus promises him an expensive massage chair in return for sleeping with Lois. He lets Lois know about Jesus’ interest in her and she reluctantly agrees.

As they head out together, Peter enjoys his chair at the Drunken Clam. During this time, Peter has a fantasy of Lois and Jesus having sex and has second thoughts. These are confirmed when other members of the bar confirm that Jesus is not a virgin, but pulls this annual stunt every Christmas to have sex with people’s wives. Peter tries multiple ways to get to their liaison to stop things. Peter rushes to the room to find that no cheating took place as Lois decided that their marriage was too good. Jesus applauds their “lesson”, making the excuse that he concocted this charade as a tale of resisting temptation, and leaves them to celebrate their Christmas.

On Christmas Day, Rupert gives Stewie a Joni Mitchell CD for Christmas, disappointing him because Stewie had observed Rupert picking out a heart-shaped necklace. As Stewie tearfully listens to “Both Sides, Now” on the CD, he wonders whom the necklace was for, and it is revealed to be for Mayor Adam West.

A great Christmas episode that answers the question as to weather or not Jesus is a Virgin. Seeing Adam West as a crossdresser was quite disturbing thou.

FIRST CHRISTMAS

GUEST CAST

Cleo King (The Hangover)

Mike has no idea what to get Molly for their first Christmas as a couple. He runs a lot of ideas through Joyce & Carl, but they reject it all. He is also unable to take the hints Molly gives him. Finally he ends up buying her expensive jewellery. Molly gets Mike a leather jacket, but has to exchange it for a video game when Mike ends up buying a jacket himself.A great first Christmas for Mike & molly as it shows a realistic reaction to the first time you spend Christmas with a girlfriend. mike accidentally eating all Victoria’s Christmas cookies full of weed was funny where he passed out at the end. One of my favorite specials to watch at Christmas.

CHRISTMAS BREAK

Molly starts planning Christmas. At school, Rebecca finally reveals that she got the Vice Principal’s job as she is sleeping with the Principal. Molly then gets drunk with Peggy and all the lunch ladies. Mike is looking forward to a nice Christmas with Molly’s family. He also dresses up as Santa & Carl as an elf for charity, but is doesn’t go very well. At home, Molly is depressed and watches TV with Vince, when an old student turns up to thanks her for helping him get accepted to a art school. She finally comes out of depression and realizes the true value of her job.Molly’s depressed sate as Christmas was hilarious and what she said about the Charlie Brown Christmas episode was brilliant. Mike & Molly always does brilliant xmas episodes.

KARAOKE CHRISTMAS

Cleo King (The Hangover)
Gerald McRaney (The Neverending Story)

Dressed as Santa Claus and frustrated about Molly’s holiday spending, Mike cautions children about using credit cards to buy toys. Later, Molly’s family has their traditional Christmas at home, including fun with a karaoke machine, but Mike and Molly must spend Christmas Eve at church with his mother and boss.

Yet again Mike & Molly show how to do a great Christmas, the biggest Highlight is Victoria played by Katy Mixon Singing at the end it was lovely and shows her talent.

TIS THE SEASON TO BE MOLLY

Mike (as Santa Claus) and Carl (as an elf) hand out toys to needy children, then get locked in the back of a truck while loading it. At home, Molly has the whole family on edge as she insists on every holiday preparation being done to her exact specifications. While it is revealed that she does this to honor her late father, Vince is left distraught when Molly lashes out at him and he feels that the Flynn family has never really accepted him.

A great episode showing just how Molly goes all out for the holiday period, it’s nice that Molly eventually excepts Vince as part of the family and allows him to put a decoration on the tree.

Sixty five million years ago, an alien race known as the “Creators” used devices called Seeds to terraform planet Earth, effectively wiping out the dinosaurs and covering it with an alloy called Transformium. In the present day, geologist Darcy Tirrel excavates the Transformium for K.S.I. Industries, which uses it to build man-made artificial Transformer drones.Five years after The Battle of Chicago, the humans have begun to view the Transformers as a threat, leading the U.S government to terminate all human-Autobot joint programs. Although the public believes that the Autobots have been granted sanctuary, they are being hunted by a rogue, vengeful and xenophobic CIA black ops division known as Cemetery Wind, led by opportunistic government official Harold Attinger, who believes that all Transformers should be exterminated regardless of their faction. They are aided by Lockdown, a Cybertronian bounty hunter working for the Creators, promising to give Attinger a Seed if his division manages to capture Optimus Prime. Cemetery Wind locates Ratchet in Mexico City and Lockdown kills him when he refuses to give up the whereabouts of Optimus Prime.Optimus, damaged in Mexico City and disguised as a rundown semi-truck, is discovered in an abandoned theater by Cade Yeager, a financially struggling Texan inventor, and brings him back to the farm. While his teenage daughter Tessa and business partner Lucas Flannery encourage him to turn Optimus over to the authorities after realizing what he really is, Cade instead fixes Optimus, hoping to understand his technology and unexpectedly revives him. Still skeptical of Optimus and worried about Cade’s safety, Lucas calls Cemetery Wind, who attacks and destroys the farm, but Optimus and Tessa’s boyfriend, Irish rally car driver Shane Dyson, come to the family’s aid.While on the run from Cemetery Wind and Lockdown, Lucas is killed by one of Lockdown’s grenades. After escaping from their attackers, they take refuge in an abandoned gas station. Later, Optimus scans a passing truck and turns into a Western Star 5700 Phantom Custom truck with the original red and blue paint with flames. Afterwards, Optimus summons the surviving Autobots – Bumblebee, Hound, Drift, and Crosshairs – who have come to distrust humans due to Cemetery Wind constantly hunting them down. Using a CIA drone which he stole during the home invasion, Cade discovers K.S.I.’s involvement in the attacks on the Autobots. Bumblebee later assumes an alternate form after scanning a passing car, while Optimus vows to personally kill Attinger for his actions against his brethren.Infiltrating K.S.I.’s headquarters in Chicago, Cade discovers the remains of Autobots and Decepticons are being melted down to make the drones. Joshua Joyce, the ambitious company CEO, is in league with Attinger to revolutionize global defenses and improve human society using the Seed. He has captured Brains and is using him and Megatron’s head to create prototype Transformer soldiers Galvatron and Stinger. In a fit of rage, the Autobots storm the building where they rescue Brains and destroy the laboratory, but they soon leave after Joshua announces that they are no longer needed. Attinger forces Joshua to deploy Galvatron and Stinger to attack the Autobots. During the battle, Galvatron’s behavior becomes slightly erratic when he starts destroying vehicles. As Galvatron battles Optimus, it frees itself from control and speaks to Optimus. Lockdown then arrives and abducts Optimus while Galvatron and Stinger retreat; Tessa is inadvertently captured alongside Optimus in the midst of the chaos, leaving Cade and Shane devastated.While Lockdown’s large prison spacecraft hovers over Chicago to hand over the Seed, Cade, Shane, and the Autobots use this opportunity to sneak on board and rescue Optimus and Tessa. They hijack a smaller ship, containing a number of other Autobots called the Dinobots, just before Lockdown leaves Earth. The Autobots reveal to Cade that “Galvatron” is in fact Megatron, who had transferred his consciousness into the Galvatron drone after K.S.I. officials had accidentally revived him. They realize that Galvatron is plotting to use the Seed and the K.S.I. drones to conquer the world, by detonating the Seed in Hong Kong. K.S.I.plans to use the Seed in the remote Mongolian desert to create vast amounts of usable Transformium. Cade informs Joshua of Megatron’s presence, causing him to have a change of heart and agreeing to hand over the Seed with help from Darcy and his Chinese business associate Su Yueming. Meanwhile, Lockdown discovers that Optimus has escaped and stole a part of his ship, forcing him to return to Earth to retrieve them. Back at the facility, Joshua gets into a disagreement with Attinger when the former becomes aware of the latter’s nefarious activities, whilst Attinger gradually deduces Joshua’s plot to betray him. Galvatron unexpectedly reactivates himself and promptly takes control of the K.S.I. drones, and a battle follows in Hong Kong’s streets between Cade’s group, the Autobots, Cemetery Wind, Galvatron, and his drones. During the fight, Optimus gains the alliance of the Dinobots, who become essential to the Autobots’ victory while Bumblebee kills Stinger.Lockdown returns to capture Optimus and the Dinobots, using a large magnet in his ship that picks up and drops metal objects, causing destruction to the city. After disabling the magnet, Optimus fights Lockdown at an abandoned factory. In the ensuing duel, Optimus kills Attinger (who still deems all Cybertronians aside from Lockdown as a threat) to save Cade, and avenging the deaths of his fellow Autobots. However, this allows Lockdown to pin Optimus down by impaling his chest with his own sword, damaging his spark. Cade, Bumblebee, Tessa, and Shane fight Lockdown, with Cade ending up fighting him one-on-one while Tessa and Shane use a tow truck to free Optimus, who kills Lockdown before using one of his grenades to finish off the remaining drones. Galvatron, the only surviving Decepticon, retreats with Lockdown’s ship, vowing to return. Optimus tells the Autobots to protect the Yeagers (with Joshua offering to help the Yeagers build a new home) and lets the Dinobots go, before flying away into space with the Seed, sending a message to the Creators that he is coming for them.Tucci is always funny in tense situations, and comedian T.J. Miller gets some laughs as Cade’s borderline annoying best friend. Wahlberg is different he gives a committed performance here, and makes the dialogue believable. I like that Bay and company made Cade a single dad, and Peltz’s Tessa is surprisingly not annoying. The first hour, set at the Yeager homestead in Texas, is my favorite. I enjoyed watching Cade and Tessa meet Optimus and flee from Cemetery Wind. Scenes on Lockdown’s imposing prison ship are also good. This was intended to be the first film in a new trilogy,with transformers 5 already in the pipeline. The last scene opens the transformers cinematic universe, leaving it open for the fifth to explore further the transformer mythology.

To celebrate his upcoming marriage to Tracy Garner, Doug Billings travels to Las Vegas with his best friends Phil Wenneck, Stuart “Stu” Price, and Tracy’s brother Alan, in Doug’s future father-in-law’s vintage Mercedes-Benz W111. They spend the night at Caesars Palace, where they relax in their hotel suite before celebrating with a few drinks on the hotel rooftop. The next morning, Phil, Stu, and Alan awaken to find they have no memory of the previous night, and Doug is nowhere to be found. Stu’s tooth is in Alan’s pocket, their suite is in a state of complete disarray, a tiger is in their bathroom, a chicken is in their living room, and a baby is in the closet, whom they name “Carlos”. They find Doug’s mattress impaled on a statue outside of Caesars Palace and when they ask for their Mercedes, the valet delivers an LVPD police cruiser.Using clues to retrace their steps, the trio travel to a hospital where they discover they were drugged with Rohypnol (“roofies”), causing their memory loss, and that they came to the hospital from a chapel. At the chapel, they learn that Stu married a stripper named Jade, despite being in a long-term relationship with his abusive, domineering girlfriend Melissa. Outside the chapel, the trio is attacked by gangsters saying they are looking for someone. They flee and visit Jade, discovering that she is the mother of the baby, whose real name is Tyler. They are then arrested by the police for stealing the police cruiser. After being told that the Mercedes has been impounded, the trio is released when they unknowingly volunteer to be targets for a taser demonstration. While driving the Mercedes, they discover a naked Chinese man named Leslie Chow in the trunk. Chow jumps out of the trunk, beats the trio up with a crowbar and flees. Alan confesses that he drugged their drinks to ensure they had a good night, believing the drug to be ecstasy.Returning to their suite, they find the boxer Mike Tyson, who orders the trio to return the tiger to his mansion immediately. Stu drugs the tiger with the remaining Rohypnol, and they drive towards Tyson’s home in the Mercedes-Benz. However, the tiger awakens midway and attacks them, clawing Phil on the neck and damaging the car’s interior. After pushing the car the rest of the way to the mansion, Tyson shows the trio footage of them at his house to help them locate Doug. While driving, their car is intentionally t-boned by another vehicle. The passengers are revealed to be the gangsters from the chapel, and their boss Chow. Chow accuses the trio of kidnapping him and stealing $80,000 that was in his purse. As the trio denies this, Chow tells them he has Doug, and threatens to kill him if his money is not returned. Unable to find Chow’s $80,000, Alan, with help from Stu and Jade, uses his knowledge of card counting to win $82,400 playing Blackjack.They meet with Chow and exchange the money, only to find that “Doug” is the black drug dealer who accidentally sold Alan Rohypnol. With the wedding set to occur in 5 hours, Phil calls Tracy and tells her that they cannot find Doug. When “Black Doug” mentions that, “If you take Roofies, you’re more likely to end up on the floor than on the roof,” Stu realizes where Doug is. The trio travels back to their hotel where they find a badly sunburned Doug on the roof. Stu, Phil, and Alan moved him there on his mattress the night before as a practical joke, but forgot where they left him. Doug had thrown his own mattress onto the statue, in an attempt to signal help. Before leaving, Stu makes arrangements to go on a date with Jade the following week. With less than four hours before the wedding and with no flights to L.A. available, the four drive home. Along the way, Doug reveals he has possession of Chow’s original $80,000. Despite their late arrival, Doug and Tracy are married, the former learns the damaged Mercedes was a wedding gift, and Stu breaks up with Melissa, having grown tired of her controlling attitude. As the reception ends, Alan finds Stu’s digital camera containing photos of the events they cannot remember, and the four agree to look at the pictures together before deleting the evidence of their exploits. All of them, save for Alan, are traumatized by what they see.Its awesome, funny, original and definitely the best in the trilogy

In 1937, a military facility is on watch behind a two-way mirror as a soldier, smoking marijuana, begins to reveal very graphically what he hates about the army, but still remains euphoric. A high-ranking officer immediately closes the project and deems marijuana illegal. Seventy years later, Dale Denton, a 25-year-old process server and habitual marijuana smoker, makes a visit to the home of his drug dealer, Saul Silver, to buy marijuana. Saul tells him that he may already know the identity of Dale’s next customer, Ted Jones. Dale drives to Ted’s house and witnesses Ted and a police officer, Officer Carol Brazier, shoot a man to death. Dale panics and flees the area, but leaves his roach at the scene, which contains a rare strain of marijuana called Pineapple Express. Ted is able to identify the strain and sends his two henchmen, Budlofsky and Matheson to a dealer, Red, who tells them that he has only sold the pot to Saul.

Dale flees to Saul’s apartment and learns that Ted is a dangerous drug lord and could trace the roach back to Saul. Dale and Saul flee into the nearby woods while Ted’s henchmen persuade Red to arrange a meeting with Saul. They accidentally fall asleep in Dale’s car and wake up to find that they missed their meeting with Red. They leave the woods and arrive at Red’s house, hoping to determine whether Ted has linked them with the Pineapple Express. Red says Ted isn’t after them but Dale realizes that he’s lying, and starts a fight that results in Red getting knocked out. They wake Red and question him until he reveals that Ted has discovered who they are and is going to kill them. Dale and Saul decide that they must leave the city.

In order to leave town, Dale and Saul sell some Pineapple Express to raise bus fare. However, a police officer named Barber sees Dale and arrests him for selling marijuana. In the back of the cruiser, Dale tries to convince Barber that Brazier is corrupt and tells her that he witnessed her and Ted murder a man. Barber recognizes Brazier and promises him that she will investigate her soon since Barber had been long suspicious of Brazier’s corruption. However, Saul leaps out in front of the police car and hijacks it thinking that Brazier is the one driving. Brazier hears a police radio call of Dale’s arrest and pursues Dale and Saul in a high-speed chase but they manage to escape. After an argument with each other about the situation they are in, Dale and Saul go their separate ways. Saul visits his grandmother in an assisted living home, but is kidnapped and held hostage in Ted’s lair beneath a barn. Dale enlists Red to help him rescue Saul but Red unexpectedly backs out at the last minute and Dale is captured. While Dale and Saul are held hostage, they reconcile with each other and make plans to escape.

Suddenly, Asian mobsters attack the barn to avenge a fellow gangster’s death at the hands of Ted and Officer Brazier (the same murder that Dale witnessed). Dale and Saul finally free themselves but are caught by Matheson. Matheson grazes Dale’s ear with a gunshot but is disarmed and shot by Saul. Dale and Saul join the fight and a brawl ensues between Dale and Ted. When Budlofsky refuses to kill Saul, Matheson emerges from the lair and shoots him in the chest, killing him. He turns around to kill Saul but Red drives through the barn and saves Saul by hitting Matheson with his car. Red is then seemingly shot to death by Brazier. One of the mobsters activate a bomb, resulting in Ted’s death, and setting fire to the barn. When Red’s car explodes, it flips over and lands on Brazier, killing her. The explosion incapacitates Saul but Dale finds him and carries him out of the burning barn. Red, wounded but still alive, also escapes and reconciles with them. Afterwards they eat breakfast at a diner and talk about their adventure before Saul’s grandmother picks them up and takes them to the hospital.

There are a lot of reasons why Pineapple Expresswon’t work for many people, and they will probably end up being the very reasons the film works for those who like it. The film’s plot is inherently silly to an extent and one must be prepared for an outright comedy and not something in the vein of Knocked Up. Pineapple Express may end up being more enjoyable for stoners and those with friends who are stoners, but it works on its own as great comedy because the humor has much more range and scope than just marijuana. One of the best comedies in years.

I have loved Mike & Molly since the pilot, and thoroughly enjoyed every episode all the way through the series finale. There was a special magic that the series had. A genuine mix of hardcore laughs and real heart that made the show’s characters multi-dimensional and downright entertaining. They were characters you wanted to watch, wanted to see in their greatest moments and darkest defeats. Mike & Molly delivered so many memorable moments over its much too short six season run. It’s a series that I will definitely miss.When I heard the series was being cancelled and that the final season would be cut down to only 13 episodes, I was a bit surprised. It’s a solid Chuck Lorre series, the man who brought us Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and Mom, had yet another feather in his cap with Mike & Molly. It had even earned star Melissa McCarthy an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.Mike & Molly mixed edgy, broad comedy with heartwarming moments from flawed, outspoken characters. It was unapologetic in its approach to getting laughs, much like Two and a Half Men. But while Two and a Half Men was joke-joke-joke, Mike & Molly had the ability to balance the joke-joke-joke formula with many touching and even tear-inducing moments over the course of its run. I think it’s what made it easier to connect with them: they weren’t just joke machines; they came across as real people in a lot of ways.Watching such a talented cast bring 110% to each episode was always a treat. Melissa McCarthy and Billy Gardell brought us Molly Flynn and Mike Biggs, two strangers who met at an Overeaters’ Anonymous Meeting. Their story grew from first date, to moving in together, to engagement, to marriage, to trying to have a baby, to changing careers, to deciding to adopt all in six short seasons.Along for the ride were Mike’s best friend Carl (Reno Wilson); Molly’s mom and sister, Joyce and Victoria, (Swoosie Kurtz and Katy Mixon); Carl’s eventual roommate, Samuel (Nyambi Nyambi); Joyce’s husband, Vince (Louis Mustillo); Mike’s mom, Peggy (Rondi Reed); and Carl’s Grandma (Cleo King). And, of course, we can’t forget Peggy’s dog, Jim (Suzie Q).When you have a supporting cast like these performers, it’s no wonder the series had as many laughs as it did. All of them were spot-on with their characters, never missing a beat, always on their game and ready to play comedy hardball. I feel the sign of a great cast is when you can mix random characters together and the comedy still plays. The Mike & Molly cast is one of these ensembles. You can have any character paired with any other character and there will be guaranteed laughs.I would like to add a note about Melissa McCarthy. She is amazing as a sitcom actor. It’s definitely a medium she is comfortable in and I would love to see her back doing it again. Her ability to not only deliver great comedic lines but also her penchant for physical comedy and her no-fear attitude puts her in the book of great sitcom comediennes. So, what did I think of the final season? I loved it. It was short, but I loved every minute of it. I guess it’s better for the series to end on a high note than to end and people ask “Was that still on?” I have to admit I did shed a tear during the final moments of the finale.I love it, I’ll miss it, but it’s on DVD forever so at least it’s not gone forever! Thank you, Mike & Molly cast and crew for six great seasons of laughs!

American Dad is on fire at the moment. I’ve always enjoyed it, but it has lived in the shadow of it’s bigger brother, ‘Family Guy’, since it began.

This volume has such highlights as…

TEARJERKER: In this James Bond parody, Stan plays a 007-type secret agent sent to stop the diabolical Tearjerker (played by Roger) from fulfilling his master plan to create a movie so sad that it causes anyone who watches it to cry themselves to death.

WIDOWMAKER: Francine pushes Stan to open up to her emotionally but, after a few psychiatrist sessions with Roger, he is more touchy-feely than she can handle when he tells her he killed her friend’s husband. Meanwhile, Steve vows vengeance when Hayley kills the queen bee from his science project.

OFFICE SPACEMAN: When the CIA initiates an Alien Task Force, a peculiar twist of fate puts Roger in charge of the task force in disguise, who marks Stan as an alien to protect his own identity. Meanwhile, Francine freaks out when she finds Steve with a black girl as his study-buddy, but reveals that she did not freak out because Steve’s study-buddy is black, but because she is left-handed.

STANNY SLICKERS II: THE LEGEND OF OLLIE’S GOLD: After officially dying and coming back to life, Stan decides to leave a legacy on the world and begins to search for legendary buried treasure. As the search for gold goes “North”, life at home heads south as Hayley becomes addicted to body-piercing, Steve turns the vacuum into a robotic girlfriend, and Roger hatches a scam to get sexually harassed at work so he can win an out-of-court settlement.

SPRING BREAK-UP: Stan has a spring break-induced mid-life crisis. With Francine away visiting her parents, Roger (as “Scotch Bingington”) invites Spring Breakers to party at the Smith household. But Stan nearly has a “Spring Breakdown” when he falls prey to a sexy booze-cruiser and Steve tries to lose his virginity to actress Carmen Selectra.

1600 CANDLES: Roger becomes excited when he turns 1600, and he spies on his family as they prepare to throw a birthday party for him. Much to his dismay, Roger is interrupted when Steve runs down the stairs and reveals to the family that he has grown his first pubic hair. Stan and Francine become horrified when they hear of the news, and they begin to take drastic measures to deal with Steve’s puberty after having reoccurring memories of when Hayley began menstruating, which is what turned her aggressive. While Francine desperately goes to the CIA to get some aging retardant, Steve makes plans with Lisa Silver to meet up at a Macy’s. During his sleep, Francine injects the aging retardant, only to wake up to him morphing into a toddler. Steve becomes enraged when he sees this, and Lisa Silver angrily walks out of the store. Steve is given another opportunity as going with Lisa, this time as the school prom. Stan and Francine later inject a different serum into Steve during his sleep. However, much to their dismay, Steve is an elder. Stan and Francine later drops Steve off at his school, and give him the antidote. Some of the school bullies later give Steve a swirly, claiming that the first pubic hair is nothing special, and the hair is blown out the window, drifts across the town, only to finally land onto Roger’s birthday cake

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: The Smith family schedule an intervention to tackle down Roger’s rampant alcoholism. When Roger arrives drunk at the house, they also mention his tendency to have an inferiority complex from wearing his various costumes and personas. Ignoring their worries, Roger goes shopping for beer, only to find out that his credit card has maxed out. He later investigates who the culprit is, revealing to be Sidney Hoffman. He vows to make Hoffman’s life a living hell, and he gets Hoffman unemployed, sets his apartment on fire, and breaks up with his fiancée. At his home, Roger discovers that Sidney Hoffman is the same person as he is. Unknown to him, Sidney has hired a hitman to kill him. While at a department store, the Sidney Hoffman persona confronts Roger in a dressing room. Hoffman is later killed from being stabbed by Roger, and Hoffman’s ex is seen holding hands with Roger, revealing to him that she’s a hermaphrodite

ONE LITTLE WORD: Stan becomes envious that he does not get any special treatment after seeing a coworker dine with his boss, Avery Bullock, at the executive lounge. He is finally given the opportunity to become Bullock’s personal assistant after Stan’s coworker refused to stand in line to get Bullock opera tickets due to personal issues. Bullock leaves his son, Avery Jr., in the care of Francine on various occasions, in which she later is on the verge of an mental breakdown. Stan accompanies his boss on various errands, including picking up women for sex and retrieving his wife from being held captive by terrorists in Fallujah. When the ordeal ends, Francine and Stan plan their Valentine’s Day trip to an old honeymoon spot. When they arrive, Francine finds out that Stan has been harboring Bullock’s son, as well as his mistress in a nearby cabin in an attempt to hide her from his wife. Bullock’s wife, infuriated by his betrayal, shoots him in the knee and takes Avery Jr. home with her. In pain, Bullock pleads Stan to call the paramedics, but Stan blatantly refuses. He carries Francine out of the cabin and proceeds to kiss her. Dick is currently Bullock’s number one

CHOOSEY WIVES CHOOSEY SMITH:Stan announces to Francine that he has become a registered pilot, much to her dismay. Francine reveals to Stan that before meeting him, she was once engaged to a pilot who has been presumed dead. When the pilot, named Travis, suddenly is found to be alive, she had already reengaged to Stan. Stan becomes upset and envious that Francine was with another man prior to him, and he tracks Travis down. When Roger and him arrive in Montana, Travis is found to be a wealthy rancher. Stan returns to Langley Falls to reveal to Francine that he has tracked down Travis in order to see his qualities. He struggles to schedule events, even going as far as to plan a dinner. Frustrated, Francine does not settle and tells Stan that she loves him. Stan, reluctant to believe her, sets up a staged crash with Roger and fakes his death. They arrive and relax at a remote island, only to be washed up by a tsunami. After being stranded out at sea for three months, Stan and Roger are saved, and they return home. Francine is ecstatic to see Stan, only to have Travis walk into their reunion. Francine later reveals that she faked having a relationship with Travis in an attempt to make Stan jealous. Angry, Travis leaves the house. Meanwhile, Steve finds a stray cat. He tries on various occasions to befriend the cat, only to be the victim of multiple attacks

ESCAPE FROM PEARL BAILEY: Steve gets back together with his former ex-girlfriend Debbie, much to the jealousy of his friends. His rival, Lisa Silver, organizes a campaign to become the student council president of the school. Debbie devises a plan to run against Lisa, much to her frustration. Lisa warns her that she vows to humiliate her if she makes a successful campaign. A slander post was made by Lisa and her friends in an attempt to humiliate Debbie, enraging Steve. Steve initiates a plot to gain revenge for his girlfriend, which includes infecting one of Lisa’s stuffed animals with herpes. Debbie is horrified when he tells her about this, and she ends their relationship. Steve soon realizes Snot, Toshi and Barry made the slander post and framed Lisa and her friends. As soon as Steve is later found to be the culprit of the plan, and his friends behind the slander post, the whole school chases them down. They stumble upon an empty room, only to find Debbie and her friends. Steve explains to her why he went through with the plan, and Debbie reluctantly accepts his apology. Steve and his friends manage to escape from the school, where Francine is waiting for them. However, the whole school corners them, and they mercilessly attack them.

PULLING DOUBLE BOOTY: Hayley goes on a rampage shortly after Jeff breaks up with her. Francine and Stan try to help their daughter get through the grief, as the police have informed them that she will go to jail if she has another rampage. Francine later peeps into Hayley’s room one night, only to find her making out with a person that closely resembles Stan. Disturbed and horrified, she confronts Stan only for the look-alike to come out with Hayley. The look-alike, named Bill, is later caught by Stan after an attempt to have sex with Francine. They kick him out of the house, and Stan vows to act as Bill to prevent Hayley from going on another rampage. Meanwhile, Roger and Steve get summer jobs of determining the gender of baby chicks.If you’re new to American Dad, this is where the best material lies (so far).

American Dad! is one of those shows that just keeps getting better. The show got off to a rocky start in its first series, definitely being born into its older brother Family Guy’s shadow, but since then it has slowly turned into its own show, with its own style of comedy. This sets highlights are ..PHANTOM OF THE TELETHON: Stan learns that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) can no longer afford torture devices as the Democrats are shifting money to teaching inner city children to read. While Stan tries to come up with ideas for revenue-raising inventions, Roger suggests that the CIA hold a telethon, which Stan says is a stupid idea. The next day however, Stan then suggests a telethon and takes all the credit and does not admit that it was Roger’s idea, despite his protests that it was.

STAN TIME: Feeling exhausted all the time, Stan begins taking pills that allow him to stay up all night and feel like he had a full night’s sleep. He tries to use his newfound energy and time on hobbies, only to ultimately discover he would rather spend more time with his wife. Meanwhile, Roger and Steve are asked to make a screenplay for a pornographic film.

FAMILY AFFAIR: Roger has been making excuses about prior commitments, prompting the Smiths to realize that he has been “cheating” on them with other families. The Smiths take action to teach Roger a lesson about monogamy until Roger discovers for himself why he is not a one-family kind of guy

LIVE AND LET FRY: When Langley Falls implements a ban on trans fats, Stan finds himself legally separated from his favorite foods. He sets a poor example for the rest of the family when he blatantly disregards the law by crossing county lines and using Steve as a trans-fatty food mule to satisfy his own gluttonous desires

JACK’S BACK: Steve signs Stan up for a father-son bike tournament, but the plan veers off-track when Stan admits that his father never taught him how to ride a bike. Determined to make things better, Steve helps reconcile Stan with his convict father. Meanwhile, Hayley needs internship credit for school, so Roger hires her to bar tend at his makeshift bar in the attic

WIFE INSURANCE: When Stan gets kidnapped in Colombia, Francine fears he is gone for good. Stan finally reappears unharmed, but the real trouble erupts in the Smith household when he admits that he has a plan to marry his dentist if Francine dies before him. Meanwhile, Steve and Roger play detective duo “Wheels and the Legman.”

WEINER OF OUR DISCONTENT: Stan has had enough of Roger’s antics! When he calls Roger out, Roger claims he has been sent to Earth to determine the fate of mankind. Stan challenges him to prove it, and is tickled pink when he learns Roger’s real purpose for being on Earth. Roger struggles to get a grip on reality until a fateful turn of events helps put things in perspective.

e show is hilarious, every episode makes you laugh. American dad is amazing, watch it. Roger is so funny its unbelievable.

It’s a show that continues to fly under the radar of many, and as those who have enjoyed the exploits of American Dad! will happily tell you, that’s very much their loss. For this is a golden animated series, aimed firmly at grown ups, and bursting with quotable lines. Episode Highlights are ….

IN COUNTRY..CLUB: Stan teaches Steve that the only way he can truly appreciate the national anthem is by participating in a war re-enactment, but the experience leaves Steve looking and acting like a traumatized Vietnam War veteran. Meanwhile, Roger gets a pet bird and badgers Stan into giving him a cable code so he can watch a Barbra Streisand pay-per-view special. And an amputee mental patient who has psychic powers, named John Q. Mind (Randy Spears), escapes from a mental hospital on a motorcycle.

MOON OVER ISLA ISLAND: In order to get a promotion at work, Stan has to convince the dictator of Isla Island to sign a treaty. Stan meets the general and accidentally kills him and has Roger pose as the leader of the small island nation. Meanwhile, Steve and Snot compete for the sexual advances of each other’s mothers.

HOME ADRONE: Steve is left home alone when the family takes a trip to look at a potential college for Hayley. When his friends arrive and realize he has the run of the house, they persuade Steve to break the rules. They’re soon in over their heads when they discover that what they thought was a video game is actually a military controlled drone. As Hayley’s flight is about to leave, the pilot sees the drone, and delays the flight for safety of the passengers. As Steve and his friends attempt to cover their tracks, Roger has a meltdown that keeps the family from making their trip by dressing as Stan instead of a little girl to get alcohol. The Air Marshall threatens to kill everyone unless the little girl (Roger) is found. Stan returns to find that Steve has betrayed his trust and thrust them into a high-level security situation.

MAN IN THE MOONBOUNCE: Steve must become the “man of the house” when Stan relives his childhood after an emotional breakdown on a moonbounce – and ends up in Chimdale Minimum Security prison for vandalizing a house. Meanwhile, Hayley gives Klaus a wig so he can have his first haircut in years.

SHALLOW VOWS: When Stan lets it slip that he only married Francine for her looks days before they renew their wedding vows, Francine purposely lets herself go so she can see if Stan really does love her. Meanwhile, Steve and Hayley go on the run when one of Roger’s personalities threatens to kill them.

G-STRING CIRCUS: Stan opens up a dry-cleaning shop with 20-year-old strippers as the workers to prove Hayley should take his advice, but when Stan’s business goes south, Stan decides to take off his own clothes for money. Meanwhile, Steve and his friends go to space camp (which turns out to be boring) and try to escape when he sees a webcam shot of Roger housing Stan’s stripper dry-cleaning workers in Steve’s room.

RAPTURE’S DELIGHT: Stan is upset when he cannot find his family a good seat for a Christmas Day church service, but that proves to be the least of his worries when Stan discovers that he, Roger, and Francine are the last people left on Earth and everyone else has ascended into Heaven as part of the Biblical end of days.

A JONES FOR A SMITH: Stan gives Francine a hard time when she is sentenced to work in a soup kitchen following a drunk driving arrest (since Stan does not believe social programs that help the homeless and impoverished are of any value to American society), but when Stan gets hooked on crack cocaine, he refuses to get help (and costs Steve a chance to hook up with a beautiful high school girl who’s attracted to nerds), but later he discovers that asking others for help does not hurt.

MAY THE BEST STAN WIN: Stan gives Francine “love coupons” for Valentine’s Day, but refuses to honor them once he becomes preoccupied with his very own CIA cyborg. Meanwhile, Roger helps Steve and his friends remake a classic ’80s movie.

RETURN OF THE BLING: Roger reveals that he played on the gold-medal-winning Miracle on Ice 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team as a steroid-abuser. Stan is able to convince Roger to return his Olympic gold medal, but Roger has a difficult time dealing with the loss. Meanwhile, Hayley reevaluates her relationship status with Reginald the Koala.

COPS AND ROGER: Roger joins the police force after he and Francine are mugged, but he turns into a dirty cop, and Hayley gets a new friend.

MERLOT DOWN DIRTY SHAME: Roger winds up kissing Francine when the two go wine-tasting, leading Francine having to tell Stan so it’s not bad if they told soon, but Roger tries everything to keep Francine from telling Stan. Meanwhile, Klaus and Hayley screw with Steve’s head by making him think his reality is a lucid dream, but he goes too far when he tries to fly out the window.

GREAT SPACE ROASTER: It is Roger’s birthday, and he begs to be roasted, but Roger takes the cruel jokes to heart and goes on a rampage against the Smith family.

American Dad is very firmly in its stride here, with the maturity of the show working in its favor. It’s a little American-centric at times, as you might expect from the show’s title and origin, but it’s still always accessible. In fact, it’s more than that. American Dad! is arguably one of the most underappreciated television shows of the modern era. And if you’re in any doubt of that, there’s an abundance of evidence in this box set waiting to be uncovered.